Ankle exosuit takes stroke rehab about of lab and into everyday settings

Over 80 per cent of stroke survivors experience gait challenges, often relating to a loss of control over ankle movement. As survivors progress into the chronic stage of stroke, most continue to walk more slowly and less efficiently.

Rehabilitation devices exist to counter this aspect of stroke survival, but their use is limited to lab or clinical settings.

Now, a proof-of-concept study suggests the community-use ankle exosuit could help stroke survivors improve their walking propulsion and boost their overall walking confidence and ability while ambulating around their own homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods. The work, led by Professor Conor Walsh’s team at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), is published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

“We saw an opportunity to leverage wearable technology to rethink how we approach physical therapy and rehabilitation,” said Walsh, senior author on the paper. “If we can shift some of these clinical services from the clinic to the home and community, we can improve access, reduce costs and deliver better care. It is exciting to see the fields of engineering and physical therapy come together to make this happen.”

Walsh’s Biodesign Lab at Harvard had previously developed assistive and rehabilitative exosuit technologies for various applications. Some of that technology has already been licensed and commercialised by ReWalk Robotics and been given breakthrough status by the US Food and Drug Administration. To design an ankle exosuit for use in the community, Walsh’s team need to simplify the exosuit’s mechanical components and make it easy for wearers to control.